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Ascend Venture Group CERTIFIED

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FIRM OVERVIEW: Medium Private VC founded in 2000 based out of New York, USA (US East)

FIRM DESCRIPTION: Ascend Venture Group, LLC (�Ascend� or the �Firm�) is a private investment management firm headquartered in New York City. Ascend combines highly sophisticated financial expertise with unique access to investment opportunities to create attractive risk/reward portfolios and partnerships for its investors. Ascend currently manages more than $150 million.

Posted by
Anonymous
on 2007-10-05

PUBLIC:

Ascend's pros are a) their focus on a specific vertical (education, which can be hard to find), b) their stated process (which they also follow), c) a smart team of people who are also generally good folks. They are also fairly prompt in getting back to you.

Their cons are those typical of VCs - more risk averse that you would expect, and a little less deep in the earlier stages of early stage. You might expect them to observe you for a while before investing, especially if you don't fit their criteria exactly.

They also seem fairly active in bringing together people in their target industry, which is a plus.

Ascend is a solid choice for early stage entrepreneurs. Darryl Wash, the managing partner at Ascend, is a smart VC who backs entrepreneurs. He can be tough and honest. But he also works hard to help with fund raising and building out the management team.

Kylie is exactly the kind of VC you want to interact with. Smart and thoughtful. She stays out of your way and gives you space to get things done. She works hard to bring strategic value and she and her firm honestly try to partner with entrepreneurs more so than any VC I have ever dealt with.